A New Direction
by AccioCupCake
Summary: Lily Evans gets her letter to Hogwarts. She has to deal with lessons, the ignorant James Potter and Petunia. But, most of all, fitting into the Wizarding World. Can she survive her first year?
1. Chapter 1

Lily Evans was sprawled out on the grass in her Mum's garden. She wasn't watching the bees and butterflies flutter around the marigolds, though. Lily was busy trying to figure out why she could open and close the bud of a tulip.

"It must be some trick of the light." she muttered to herself.

But her mind kept playing back the time at the park when a boy, whose named was Severus Snape, saw her doing her flower trick and claimed that Lily was a _witch_ and she possessed "magic". Lily was deeply offended by his words until he explained that he was a wizard and he didn't mean his comment to be hurtful. Petunia, Lily's older sister, had witnessed the whole thing and insisted the boy was just trying to creep her out and came to the conclusion that Lily just had some weird ability. But, Lily was curious about what Severus said, so she followed him home from the park, just in case she wanted to talk to him again, assuming his words were true.

"I really mustn't get worked up over one coincidence." thought Lily. "After all, I should be worrying about starting middle school next week."

Sighing loudly, Lily quickly turned and started heading towards the door of her house. But out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small flutter of a bird. As she took a closer look at the sky, she saw an owl.

"That's odd." Lily said, wondering why an owl would be outside in plain daylight.

It was only about four o'clock in the afternoon. Squinting through the afternoon sun, Lily noticed the Barn Owl had a letter clamped in its beak.

"A letter? I really must be going mad." She wondered out loud.

Then, it dawned on Lily that the owl was heading straight towards her. Panicking, she tried to duck out of the way.

"ARGH!" Lily screamed.

Unfortunately, Lily didn't move out of the way in time, so there was a moment of scrambling limbs and bird feathers until Lily and the freaked-out owl were both on the grass.

"Ugh…" moaned Lily.

Then, the owl dropped the letter into a bunch of daisies and flew off. Lily reached for the letter and realized her name was neatly written on it, in emerald green ink. It read:

Miss L. Evans

The Bedroom on the Right

7 Oak Tree Bend

Cherry Wood Village

Surrey

Lily open the letter up and found out she was accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Severus was right! I am a witch!" Lily exclaimed. "But what if this is some sort of prank?"

Judging the fact that the letter came with several other pieces of parchment with information on how to get onto the school train, where to find school supplies and school rules, Lily reckoned it probably wasn't a joke. But, just to be sure, she decided to run over to Severus' house. Lily pushed open the gate out of the garden. It creaked as she closed it. Lily ran as fast as she could to Severus' street, her long red hair billowing behind her. By the time she reached his house, she was gasping for breath. Lily was always horrid at sports, no less running. She walked up to Severus' house and knocked on the door.

"Lily? Did you get your letter?" asked Severus, when he saw her.

Lily quickly nodded her head. "Please have this all be real." Lily thought to herself.

"Oh, Merlin! That's brilliant. Come in, I'll tell you about the wizarding world." Severus said.

As soon as Lily stepped into his house she noticed something different. Well, besides the fact that the pots were scrubbing themselves and a broom was sweeping the floor without anyone pushing it. The whole house was, well, dark. The house was dim and the lamps gave it an eerie feel. Severus must have noticed Lily's horrified look because he quickly directed her into his room. In the first five minutes of talking to Severus, Lily felt her face heating up.

"Great. Already fitting in _perfectly_." Lily thought, sarcastically.

For the next hour Severus explained many wizarding things to her. He talked about soul-sucking creatures called dementors that guard the wizard jail, called Azkaban. He also talked about a sport called quidditch. When it was starting to get dark outside, Lily left to go back to her house. She was excited to tell he parents about being a witch. "I hope Petunia won't be mad that I got a letter and she never did. She probably won't be. She's always been understanding and a great sister." How very wrong Lily was. Lily skipped into her house, tripping over the welcome mat as she went. She had always been the clumsy sort.

"Lily! Dinner is ready!" Lily's Mum yelled.

"Coming Mum!" Lily replied.

Her Mum made her special shepherd's pie for dinner. As soon as Petunia and her Dad sat down, Lily showed them her letter. "I know this sounds crazy but…. Oh, just read the letter." She watched as one by one her family members read the letter wide eyed, mouths hanging open. All, that is, except for Petunia.

"You actually believe this rubbish? It's obviously a prank!" said Petunia angrily.

"Now Tuney, it makes sense. Lily could already do some special things. Then, she gets a letter explaining she's a witch. It has to be true!" said Lily's Mum.

"I agree." said her Dad.

" _Special_? LILY IS NOTHING MORE THAN A  FREAK!" Petunia screeched.

Lily dropped her fork in surprise. It clanged down onto the floor. Petunia's words hurt. A LOT. She finally found the reason why she was always different than everyone else and then Petunia just freaked out.

"Tuney relax." Lily started to say.

"No! You are a disgrace to the family. Mum and Dad shouldn't be _proud_ of you. You're a _freak_." Petunia said.

Then, she stormed out of the room. Lily's eyes filled with tears. She blinked them back.

"I'm going to bed now Mum."

"Alright Lily. Petunia is just in a bad mood. She'll be better in the morning." Lily's Mum said.

Lily raced to her room, tears streaming down her face. Today went from the best hours of her life to the worst minutes. Lily snuggled deep into the covers of her bed.

Everything will look better in the morning." Lily thought as she drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Thank you guys for reading my fanfiction! I hope you like this chapter. J

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters and places. The amazing J.K. Rowling does.

Yellow sunlight shined through the blinds in Lily's room. Birds happily tweeted and fluttered about in her mum's blooming garden. Lily cracked her eyes open, sighed deeply and hopped out of bed. She tip-toed down the hall and reached out to knock on Petunia's door, to say hullo. As Lily placed her hand on the door knob, yesterday's events came rushing back to her. She drew her hand from the door, horrified at the memories and rushed back to her room, not bothering to be quiet. Lily flopped down on her bed and groaned.

"Ugh. I hope Petunia isn't still mad at me! She doesn't normal hold a grudge though."

Reassured by this thought, Lily sat down at her wooden desk, which was a gift from her grandparents, and reread the Hogwarts letter.

"Alright. School starts on September 1st." Lily said to herself.

Lily checked her calendar and realized she only had TWO WEEKS of summer left. Lily felt nervous and excited. But, she should have felt relieved because spending her two weeks with Petunia would be a nightmare.

"So, with two weeks left, I need to get my school supplies soon!" Lily said, excitedly.

Lily looked at the parchment that listed the supplies for school and realized, in order to get them, she would have to go to a wizard place called Diagon Alley.

"What? Digon Alley? Wait no, I think it's pronounce Diagon Alley. Yes, that's sounds much better." Lily said, aloud.

"I'll ask Mum when we can go there, as soon as she wakes up." Lily thought.

After all, Lily was always the first up in the house. She would die of boredom if she tried to sleep late.

Lily heard a door creak open, and ran out into the hallway, expecting it to be her mum. But, she was terribly mistaken because she ran right into Petunia. Lily's blood ran cold. She waited for Petunia to talk first.

"Hullo _Lily_." Petunia snarled.

"Hullo." Lily replied, acting as if she didn't hear the meanness in Petunia's voice.

As Petunia pushed past Lily, Lily thought she saw a glimpse of sadness in Tuney's eyes. Perhaps, Lily was right. Lily then heard another door open and walked over to greet her Mum and Dad. "Hullo!" Lily said cheerfully, not letting Petunia interfere with her excitement.

"Good morning Lily." Replied Mrs. and Mr. Evans.

"We'll be right down for breakfast!" said Mrs. Evans.

"Alright!" Lily said as she hopped down the stairs and walked into the kitchen.

When the whole family got down to breakfast, Lily asked her mum when they would go to get her school supplies, wincing when Petunia snorted.

"I reckon we can go today. Would you bring down the parchment on how to get there?" Lily's Mum asked.

"Sure." Lily said, through a mouth full of waffles. They were blueberry waffles,with no syrup, Lily's favorite.

After retrieving the paper, Lily and her Mum were ready to go.

"Have fun!" Mr. Evans yelled as Lily and her Mum drove away.

"So, it looks like I need three sets of black work robes, a pointed hat, protective gloves, and a winter cloak. Also, many school books and a wand, a cauldron, glass phials, a telescope AND brass scales." Lily stated, out of breath.

"Ohhhh! Also, I could get an owl, cat or toad!" Lily exclaimed.

"Looks like we have a full shopping day ahead of us." Lily's Mum said.

When they arrived, the instructions stated they had to go into a restaurant named The Leaky Cauldron and ask for the owner to lead them into Diagon Alley. Lily walked into The Leaky Cauldron and her Mum cornered the owner. The owner motioned for them to come over to a brick wall. He took out a wooden stick, what Lily thought might be a wand, and tapped on certain bricks. The wall suddenly pulled open to reveal Diagon Alley.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley!" the owner said, smiling. Some of his teeth were missing.

Lily and her Mum decided to start out in the wizarding bank named Gringotts. Lily timidly stepped into the enormous bank and realized it was run by goblins. When they reached the front desk, Mrs. Evans asked to trade in muggle, meaning non-magical folk, money for wizarding money. Lily was quickly handed a sack with knuts, sickles and galleons in it.

"Why don't you start getting your supplies and I'll open a vault for you. We'll meet up in the wand shop in half an hour." Suggested Lily's Mum.

"Okay." Lily said as she pushed through the crowd to exit the bank.

Lily decided to start out in a shop called Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Lily pulled open the door and a bell jingled.

"Welcome, dearie! Are you going to Hogwarts?" Madam Malkin's asked.

Lily nodded.

"Well, come over here!" Madam Malkin said.

She slipped a long black robe over Lily's head and began to pin it to the right length. After the length was perfect, Madam Malkin measured the right length onto two other robes.

"Is that all you need dear?" Madam Malkin asked Lily.

"Umm…I need a black pointed hat as well." Lily replied.

Madam Malkin shuffled into the back room and found a black hat.

"Your total will be seven sickles and five knuts."

Lily paid for her robes and left the shop. She also bought her protective gloves and winter cloak. At Flourish and Blotts, Lily bought all her school books. After she purchased everything, she barely could move because of the weight of her bags. Lily stayed put for a while, hoping her Mum would see her. Then, a jolly witch used a charm to make her bags lighter. Lily thanked her graciously and walked into the wand shop, called Ollivanders.

"Hullo Mum." Lily said.

"Oh Lily! I opened a vault at Gringotts for you. I feel uneasy because I had to travel in a cart underground to get to the vault." Said Lily's Mum. Her face was pale with a greenish tinge.

"I'm sorry Mum! I won't be long. I almost finished all of my shopping." Lily said.

"Hello. Are you here for a wand?" Mr. Ollivander asked.

"Yes." Lily said as she followed him to the counter.

"Hmmm. Try this wand." Mr. Ollivander said.

Lily took the wand from Mr. Ollivander. It was Hazel with a phoenix feather core, 9 ½ inches long, stiff. She waved it around. Then, a lamp shattered.

"That's not the wand for you." Mr. Ollivander said.

He handed her another wand. This one was Willow with a dragon heartstring core, 10 ¼ inches long, swishy. Lily waved it and the wand glowed in her hand.

"Alright. That's your wand. It'll be 1 galleon." Mr. Ollivander said.

Lily paid for the wand and her Mum said she could purchase a pet.

Lily decided to buy a female Barn Owl and named it Daisy, after her Mum's love for flowers.

As soon as they got home, Lily raced over to Severus' house to show him her wand.

"Wow. That's a nice wand Lil." said Severus when he saw the beautiful wand.

"Thanks, Sev. Well, I better get going. See ya at Hogwarts!" Lily exclaimed.

Severus watched Lily run home, with as much happiness and freedom as a pony on an open plain. He sighed lightly and closed the door.

Lily ran up the stairs and walked into her room.

"Daisy!" Lily exclaimed, reaching her cage.

But, the barn owl was nowhere to be seen. Lily franticly searched around her room for the owl. If she already lost her pet, her parents would never trust her to use magic! Then, Lily heard something pecking at her window. She quickly opened it and Daisy flew in her room.

"Daisy! Thank goodness you're all right. Oh! You have a letter!" Lily exclaimed.

Lily opened the letter and realized it was from Professor Dumbledore. It read:

Dear Petunia,

I read your letter about wanting to be accepted into Hogwarts. Alas, you do not possess magic and won't thrive in the Wizarding World. This decision was made for the better for you and your family.

Best Regards,

Albus Dumbledore

Lily was shocked. The reason Petunia was so mean to her was because she wanted to go too. Lily walked into Petunia's room and placed the letter on her desk.

Later that night, Lily heard Petunia crying in her room. Lily knocked on her door.

"Tuney…" Lily started to say.

"Stop! I know you read the letter! Go away, you freak!" Petunia shouted, between sobs.

"Petunia, I can't help that I'm a witch!" Lily explained.

"You can just forget about going to Hogwarts and magic!" Petunia replied.

"I can't Pet. It's a part of me." said Lily, firmly.

"Then go away! I never want to talk to you ever again!" screamed Petunia.

"This is going to be a long two weeks." Lily thought, as she walked back to her room.


	3. Chapter 3: Lake Water and James Potter

Authors Note: Thank you KeeLove20 and Andren for following my FanFiction! Please review and follow!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters!

Lily opened her eyes to her mother's voice.

"Lily! Time to get up!"

Excitement suddenly flooded Lily. She forgot school started today! Lily rolled out of bed threw on a T-shirt and jeans. Then, she attempted to get a brush through her tangled and knotted hair. After tackling her hair, she rushed into the bathroom, peeking inside first to make sure Petunia wasn't already in there. After all, it wouldn't do to start the day face to face with a grumpy Petunia. Lily squeezed some toothpaste onto her toothbrush and brushed her teeth. But, being the clumsy person she was, Lily spilled toothpaste all down the front of her shirt.

"Ugh!" Lily moaned as she jogged back to her room (stubbing her toe in the process) and changed her shirt.

Lily glanced at her reflection in the mirror on her wall. She was very pale and, in contrast to that, Lily had long, vibrant, red hair. Personally, Lily thought her hair was ugly and a pain to care for. Her favorite feature of herself was her vivid, emerald green eyes.

"Lily! Are you almost ready?" Mrs. Evans yelled from down stairs.

Lily's eyes widened. She forgot to pack her truck the night before. Of course her mother told her to, but Lily got _slightly_ distracted. She may or may not have been pouring over her charms textbook. Quickly, Lily tossed everything she needed into her truck. Sure this wasn't the best way to pack, but she finished quicker. Lily heaved her truck down the stairs and sat down at the kitchen table. After shoving her eggs into her mouth, Lily was ready to go.

"Mum! I'm ready to leave!"

"Okay, just a second. I'm waking up Tuney and your dad so they can say bye." Lily's mum said.

Lily sighed, Petunia would hate her for going to Hogwarts, but it was her chance to explore her magical abilities.

"Bye Lil!" Mr. Evans exclaimed as he embraced his daughter.

"Bye, dad." Lily said.

Then, Lily looked at Petunia, wondering if she would talk to her.

"Bye." Petunia said grumpily, after Mr. Evans nudged her.

Lily waved goodbye to Petunia (Petunia just glared) and got in her mum's car, with her trunk loaded in the back. When she arrived at Kings Cross she said bye to her mum and entered the train station. Muggles (a word she learned from Severus, which meant non-magical folk) were walking around to their designated platforms. Some were running as fast as their legs could take them and Lily made the assumption that they were probably running to catch their trains. Lily thought how terrible it would be if she was late to get on the Hogwarts Express, hence the reason she quickly pushed her cart to the section between platforms 9 and 10. She knew how to get on platform 9 ¾ because Severus explained it to her. Lily wheeled her cart around, glanced at passing muggles and (trying not to look like a complete idiot) ran straight into the wall barrier. After making it safely onto platform 9 ¾, she looked around at her surroundings. The Hogwarts Express laid gleaming on its tracks and wizarding families were saying goodbye to their children. Lily decided to try and get a decent seat on the train. After finding an empty compartment, Lily sat down and started reading her textbooks for school. Looking briefly out the compartment window, Lily grew disappointed as she saw Severus past by and walk into another compartment. Just as Lily thought she was going to be a loner, two girls walked in.

"Hullo. I'm Marlene. Marlene McKinnon." One of the girls said. She was obviously the bolder of the two, for the other girl stood meekly behind her. Marlene had blonde hair and her face was scattered with freckles.

"Hi." Lily said shyly.

"I'm Emmeline Vance. Who are you?" the timid girl said, after Marlene nudged her. Emmeline had wavy brown hair that rested neatly on her shoulders.

"Oh, I'm Lily Evans. Nice to meet you both. Are you guys both first years?" Lily said.

Marlene sat down on the bench seat opposite of Lily. She beckoned Emmeline to sit next to her.

"Yup. What house do you think you'll be in?" Marlene asked.

Thinking back to Severus' talk about Hogwarts, Lily said, "Well, my friend said Slytherin was a pretty good house."

"Oh, you don't want to be in Slytherin. All the dark witches and wizards come from that house." Marlene pointed out.

"Hmmmm. Severus didn't mention that…." Lily said, thoughtfully.

"Severus, who?" Emmeline asks, feeling comfortable enough now to join the conversation.

"Snape." Lily replied.

"Ah! That explains it. The Snapes are a dark family of wizards. Emma and I want to be in Gryffindor." Marlene explained.

"Alright. Gryffindor sounds like a good house." Lily replied.

"Muggleborn?" Marlene asked.

"Yes." Lily said.

"I'm a pureblood."

"Halfblood." Emma said.

The three witches chatted and, when the snack trolley rolled by, they ate a variety of wizarding candy. Soon, the train was almost at Hogwarts so Lily and her two new friends changed into their robes.

"First years ter me!" Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper, bellowed.

Hagrid instructed that the first years had to get into boats to cross the Great Lake. Lily tried to spot Emma and Marlene, but they got lost in the crowd. So, she ended up in a boat with two other wizards and a witch. When the boats started to move, the two boys started to whisper to each other.

"Hello. I'm James Potter. And this is Sirius Black." James said as he pointed to Sirius. James had brown hair that seemed to point out in every direction possible and glasses.

"Hello. I'm Lily." Lily said, surprised that the two boys were actually being nice.

James reached over to shake Lily's hand. "Nice to meet you." He said.

While he grasped her hand, he pushed Lily into the water of the Great Lake.

As Lily sunk down deeper into the water, she heard James and Sirius exclaim, "Yeah! First prank of the year, completed!"

And that was the moment Lily Evans started hating James Potter.

So, there's the third chapter for ya. I hope you guys liked it. I personally loved starting the hate relationship with Lily and James. PLEASE review this chapter. If you just finished reading this chapter and aren't planning on reviewing, please just review. I would love to hear your thoughts about it.


	4. Chapter 4: Hatered and Mystery

Here's chapter 4! Thank you KeeLove20 for posting a review! Enjoy the chapter everyone!

Lily resurfaced, sputtering. Her face matched her hair, for it was tomato red. The red tinge to her face was due to lack of air and her hatred towards James Potter. Sure, she was mad at Sirius too, but James was the one who actually _did_ it. Lily swam closer to the boat, swung her arms over the side and pulled herself back into it. She gasped for air and the other 1st year girl in the boat rushed to her.

"Gosh. Are you okay?" She asked, extremely concerned.

Lily mumbled a sort-of-answer to the girl, and faced James, otherwise known as Potter to Lily now. Since Lily didn't know any hexes, let alone _spells_ , she did what any logical teenager would do. She punched him. Hard. Potter staggered backwards, clutching his face, which received the blow. This caused Sirius to laugh even harder than he was when the prank occurred. Then, after watched James' face gradually grow black and blue, he stepped in to help him.

"Episkey." Sirius muttered.

This spell completely healed James' face.

"How'd you do that spell?" James asked.

"Oh, I learned the spell to heal cuts and bruises. I'm an...er…clumsy person." Sirius said, although it didn't look like he was being truthful.

Lily meanwhile was feeling quite guilty for punching Potter. She was starting to think about apologizing to him, but then she remembered she was wearing sopping wet robes and it was all _his_ fault.

"He deserved it." The other girl said. "I'm Alice by the way."

"You…you…UGH!" Lily shouted at James, not able to describe her anger in words.

Luckily for Lily, James seemed to have gotten the point.

"Ok, okay. Sorry." Potter said.

"You better know how to dry my robes!" Lily huffed.

"Um. I think I do? Let me try…. Exaresco!" Potter chanted.

Lily's robes started to dry, but then Potter's spell weakened. This left her robes damp. Lily glared at James, sighed and then started to chat with Alice, who was quite friendly. Soon, the boats reached Hogwarts and all the first years gathered in front of the door that led to the Great Hall. A professor in plum colored robes greeted them.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. You all will soon know me as Professor McGonagall, the Transfiguration teacher. In a moment, you all will be sorted into one of the four houses here. Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw."

Lily began to get anxious and started to bite her lip. What if she got into Slytherin? Marlene and Emma would never be her friends if that happened. Well, she still would have Alice…but what if Alice hated Slytherin too?

"Time to start the sorting." Professor McGonagall announced.

The doors to the Great Hall were opened and the first years began to walk in. Lily gasped as she walked into the building. The Great Hall was enormous. The ceiling was covered with twinkling stars and candles levitated over the four long tables, which were filled with students. The 1st years all stood in a line near a wooden stool with an old hat placed on top. Suddenly, the ragged old hat broke out into song.

I am the Sorting Hat. You probably know about me. Just sit yourself down on this stool, you see. I'll sort you into a house, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. This is the best magical school of them all. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!

The students at the tables applauded, so Lily decided to do the same. Soon, the first years were being called up to be sorted.

"Remus Lupin!" Professor McGonagall said.

Remus walked up to the stool, sat down and put on the hat.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat announced.

The Gryffindor table erupted with applause.

"Sirius Black."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindors politely clapped, but the Slytherins looked shocked. Many of them whispered quietly and glared at Sirius. After Professor McGonagall nudged Sirius, he got off of the stool and walked on shaky legs to the Gryffindor table.

"Hmmmmm. I wonder why he got that kind of reaction from the Slytherins." Lily thought.

Whether she would admit it or not, Lily was a meddler. She just _had_ to figure out what happened with Sirius.

"Lily Evans."

Lily took a deep breath and walked briskly to the stool. She sat down, smoothed out her skirt and placed the hat on her head.

"Hmmmmm. Very bright mind, loyal….Brave, yes, very Brave. Although I see you've got a firey temper. It better be…..GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting Hat whispered, only saying the last word loudly.

Lily sighed in relief and jogged to the Gryffindor table. After a while longer, the sorting was over. Emmaline, Marlene, AND Alice got into Gryffindor! Unfortunately, _Potter_ was sorted into Gryffindor too. After all the first years were seated, the feast began. All the plates on the tables were magically filled with all kinds of food. Lily scanned the table for her favorite food, baked potatoes. As soon as she found the tray of them she happily leaned over to grab one. But, Potter and his friends (minus Remus) had other plans. They snatched the tray out of her hands and ate the rested of the potatoes. Lily glared at them and huffed. They should have know not to mess with Lily and her  favorite food. Lily vowed to get to the baked potatoes first tomorrow a dinner.

"Why are you madly glaring at James? Marlene questioned. "Have you even met him?"

"I _met_ him when he pushed me into the Great Lake. And now he stole my baked potatoes!" Lily said angrily.

"Okay…sorry about the lake. But really _baked potatoes_? Now, that's an odd obsession." Marlene joked, trying to make Lily feel the slightest bit better.

After dessert, the Gryffindor prefects lead the first years to the Gryffindor common room.

"Now, this is the fat lady portrait and the password to get in is "pig snout." The boys dorms are up the right staircase and the girls are on the left. Any questions?" said a prefect.

When nobody answered, the prefect lead everyone into the common room. Lily raced up the staircase, anxious to see who would be in her room. Lily sighed in relief as she saw her three friends enter her room.

After a quick shower, Lily got in bed and drifted off to sleep.


End file.
